


Best in the Business

by MagpieWords



Series: AUgust 2020 - Magpiewords [9]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: 1920s, Alternate Universe - Crime, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate universe - Mafia, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Face Slapping, Female Bucky Barnes, Female Steve Rogers, Female Tony Stark, Hair-pulling, Kidnapping, Mild Blood, Mildly Dubious Consent, actually they're still enemies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:22:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26332576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagpieWords/pseuds/MagpieWords
Summary: “Oh, Miss Stark, it’s hard to not know who you are in this city.”Being one of the most powerful crime bosses certainly painted a target on her back. But all that power, all that money, it was worth it. For the right price, she could have almost anything she wanted.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Series: AUgust 2020 - Magpiewords [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860265
Comments: 7
Kudos: 27
Collections: AUgust 2020





	Best in the Business

**Author's Note:**

> Consent is dubious (due to kidnapping, violence, etc) but this is not the first time Toni has wanted to do this, and it certainly wont be the last. When you're part of rival groups, sometimes a kidnapping is the only way to spend time together.

It wasn’t easy, running an empire. She had the privilege to avoid building it from the ground up, of course, but she kept the family business afloat long after someone less competent could have lost it. The recent years had been tougher than most, there was a new group clawing at her doorstep for a sliver of power each week. Some were more tolerable than others, but the Hammers had been particularly distasteful.

Toni rarely had time to get her hands dirty, to really enjoy her work, but this had been a special occasion. She wanted the job done right. Her heels clicked as she stepped around the puddles of blood seeping into the hardwood floor of the old Italian restaurant. Justin must have been truly foolish, to dine so close to her territory.

The tommy gun was a comfortable weight, resting over her shoulder the second after she turned the safety back on. She tilted her head, approaching the body. His pinstripe suit had been soaked to a mottled dark red, but something wasn’t right. Toni took her gun back in hand, using the tip to tilt up the corpse’s fedora.

“This isn’t Justin Hammer,” she said, deadly calm. When none of her men moved, she repeated the words with less composure. “Did you idiots hear me? This isn’t our mark!”

When none of them responded, that’s when she slid the safety off. “Fuck, it’s a set up. Do any of you shitheels even know who I am?” She could take them down, whoever these fuckers Hammer sent after her are. It would not be the first time Toni Stark was the only person alive to walk out of a room.

“Oh, Miss Stark, it’s hard to not know who you are in this city,” a gravelly voice said, just on the edge of familiar. A figure moved out of the shadows and Toni fired. She didn’t hear a shot connect with anything but old floorboards. It was only after something heavy collided with the back of her skull that Toni realized the voice hadn’t come from the same direction as the shadow.

* * *

Waking up from unconsciousness felt different with each method. From sleep, it could be a rush of panicked limbs and tangled sheets. From chloroform, Toni found she was usually filled with rage even before the drug completely gave her back control of her limbs. Various drugs filled her with fear, keeping her still until she could take in her surroundings. Honestly, if she had to pick, waking up after a night of drinking was preferable. Everything stayed pleasantly hazy long before she had to worry about focusing on it. The following headache always seemed worth it, though she’d probably disagree with herself in the moment.

Waking up with a concussion was decidedly her least favorite. It made everything feel hazy in the wrong way, like she couldn’t remember what she was supposed to be doing. “Who…” she mumbled against the taste of blood in her mouth. If this bastard made her chip a tooth, she was going to be furious as soon as she could remember what fury felt like.

“Oh, I think you know who I am, sweetheart.” There was a firm, cold hand on her chin, tilting her head this way and that, and Toni winced against the onslaught of movement. “Good, I didn’t hitcha too hard.”

“Hit me pretty damn hard.” She was still slurring and that was so frustrating in a distant way, like she still couldn’t grasp the emotion. 

“What d’ya want me to do, say I’m sorry? Seems rude to lie t’ya.” There was the harsh scrape of chair legs and Toni wanted to scream against the pain, but her mouth still wasn’t cooperating. “This doesn’t have to be difficult, Miss Stark.”

“And somehow, it always is,” she managed.

A cork popped and the smell of expensive wine worked miracles at soothing her throbbing mind. “I just want to talk, Miss Stark.”

“Then start talking. I have places to be.”

There was an inelegant snort and, against her better judgement, Toni felt a smile pulling at her lips. “I don’t think you’re going anywhere for awhile, Miss Stark.” The pressure of rope around her wrists and ankles definitely confirmed that.

Toni managed to lift her own head up and saw the Winter Soldier sitting before her, swirling a glass in her nonmetal hand. She must have taken her to a warehouse, somewhere at the edge of the town. It was quiet here. The sunlight streaming through the damaged rooftop of the building highlighted the Soldier’s waves of dark chestnut hair, sparking a fire in the reflection of her eyes. Toni wished they would stop meeting like this.

“The Captain sends her regards.”

And with those few words, whatever shred of delight that could be found in seeing Miss Barnes was lost. Toni spat blood on the ground. “Feel free to let her know what I think of her regards.”

The Soldier sighed, placing her wine glass on the ground as she towered over Toni again. “We could have had a nice evening, Toni. I picked up a bottle of that red you like.”

“I don’t need your cheap liquor, Barnes. I own all the best distilleries on this side of the Mississippi.”

She looked like she wanted to say something more, before shaking her head. A stray curl escaped her messy bun, brushing softly against her face in a way Toni felt oddly jealous of. “It doesn’t matter. You know I’m going to get what I came for, one way or another.”

“Which is?”

“You got a recent shipment of Romanoff’s new semi-automatics. Boss doesn’t think it’s a good idea for you to have ‘em.”

“Your boss wouldn’t know a good idea if it slapped her on the ass.”

“Miss Stark,” her brain must still be foggy, she didn’t have time to flinch away before cold metal gripped her chin. The Soldier's thumb traced along her lower lip, and Toni simply let it happen, pressing further into her mouth. “That’s no way to talk.”

“I–” She started, but the finger in her mouth pressed down firmer, parting her lips.

“No no, we’re done with that now. No more small talk, no more wine.” She leaned in closer, lips brushing against the edge of Toni’s own in a parody of a tenderness. “Give me the location.”

Instead of an answer, Toni twisted herself just far enough to bite at the Soldier’s lips. She didn’t taste any blood that wasn’t her own, but it was still satisfying. Almost as satisfying as the back hand that immediately followed, bruising her cheek. Blood pooled in her mouth again, dripping over her tender bottom lip. The warehouse was silent for a moment, only the sound of her ragged breathing echoing around the two of them, panting and heavy for all the wrong reasons.

“You’re going to have to give me a little more than that, Miss Barnes.” She grinned up at her captor, hoping that Barnes had a thing for blood red lipstick and wild eyes, because that’s all Toni had to offer right now.

“Such a needy thing,” the Soldier chastised, the heat behind the words breathless and heavy for all the right reasons. Her metal thumb returned, smearing the blood along Toni’s lips, while her other head pressed between Toni’s spread thighs. “And such a pretty thing too.”

Toni didn’t have anything else to say, moaning with embarrassing ease as she tried to roll her hips after Barnes’s touch.

“Uh-uh. Location, Miss Stark.”

“It was not easy getting a deal with Romanoff,” it was a paltry excuse, not even one she was making to Barnes. Toni was just trying to find any scrap of reasoning to stop her from saying whatever was needed for just a little more…

“Life’d be a lot easier if you just joined us, Toni.”

Toni shook her head, shaking Barnes’s hand loose. She’d sacrifice a lot of things for whatever this twisted relationship was, but not that.

“We’d treat you so good, sweetheart.” Her cold hand returned, cupping the back of Toni’s neck. “Captain would take care of your people, would give you a spot of privilege right next to me. No more fightin’, no more deals. Real easy for ya. And I’d get to have you like this every night.”

She felt a sob choke its way out of her throat and had to blame that on the concussion. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to give me the location.” The warm touch between her legs burned, rubbing maddeningly slow circles against her. It wasn’t enough, it was never enough.

“I need twenty-four hours.” She gasped, scrambling for rationality. “Enough time to get my people out before you take the place.”

“I can do that for you, sweetheart. I can do so much for you, you know that.” Her voice was like honey dripping down Toni’s spine. She’d moved her metal hand up, threading her fingers into Toni’s cropped hair and _pulling_.

“I know,” Toni whined, begging with the wrong words. She rolled her hips again and Barnes took her hand away.

“Location, please.” She whispered against Toni’s ear, too sweet to be authentic, too much of not enough.

“Basement in the candy shop on 5th and Saints Street.”

Barnes whistled, low and teasing, as her grip tightened in Toni’s hair. “That ain’t your nice part of town. You causing trouble, Miss Stark?”

“Always.” She grinned again, arching her neck against the hold on her. “Now give me what I paid for.”

The crash of lips against her own, forceful and sloppy, no longer teasing at the side, was nearly as satisfying as plotting how she would get back her merchandise from the Captain and her cronies. And neither of those compared to the delicious sound of her five-hundred-dollar suit pants being ripped open by Barnes’s rough hands.

* * *

The Winter Soldier was only ever seen with a spring in her step when she came back from a successful mission. “Got it!” She grinned, collapsing into one of the plush chairs that made up the Captain’s private suite. “I’ll lead a team out tomorrow.”

Stephanie shook her head, finding herself smiling despite her confusion. “Unbelievable. I’m not ungrateful, but she’s the toughest in the business. Yet every time we need something from the Merchant of Death, you always get it. How d’ya do it?”

“She’s the best at what she does, and I’m the best at what I do.”

Steph leaned forward, curious like she had been since they were broke kids running around a broken city. They used to tell each other everything, but they weren’t children anymore.

“Aw Cap,” The Soldier’s grin turned sharklike, the one that left people all over the city with nightmares of gunmetal and screaming. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.”


End file.
